Flood — Gila, Arizona

2023-03-21 to 2023-03-25 · near Whispering Pines, Gila, Arizona

Event narrative

Tonto Creek near Roosevelt started to rise from a level of 3.7 feet (630 CFS) at around 1100 AM on March 21. The flooding started earlier upstream. The first peak flow of 12.2 feet (23,300 CFS) was at 800 PM on March 21. A second peak of 12.5 feet (25,500 CFS) was observed at 800 AM on March 22. The gauge dropped back down to action level at (4.35 feet) on March 25 at 800 AM. An elderly couple and their dog were killed in the Bear Flat area when they cross the flooded Tonto Creek in their truck.

Wider weather episode

The first in a series of disturbances moved across Arizona from March 20 to 21. This caused widespread snow showers to develop. The heaviest snow was over the higher terrain in upslope areas. This storm also delivered strong and damaging winds. The higher snow levels caused significant melting of lower elevation snow and flooding. The flooding took several days to flow down major rivers in northern Arizona.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.3196, -111.0958)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1116704. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.